Over the Edge
by kshi1205
Summary: Orphaned, Virva was raised up by Doflamingo. To repay him, she joins the Donquixote Family. Her life starts to twist then, when she is partnered-up with Trafalgar Law. He forces her eyes open, and in turn she finds that everything was not what she thought was like... Law X OC
1. Prologue

**This is my second story on Fanfic, English is not my first language, so please bear with me if I make some grammar mistakes. **

**This story is set in modern world mafia instead of the original One Piece world. I don not own One Piece, but this story is entirely my own idea and I do own my OCs. Hope you guys enjoy! **

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Prologue

It was a dark winter night. The calls of owls echoed in the chilling cold air. Heavy gray clouds swept across the night sky as the breathless moon hid behind them, peeping out every once in a while. The strong north wind blew harshly against her debilitated body as she quietly slid along the empty streets. Fallen leaves withered away with the winter wind, forming piles along the bare sidewalk. She was bleeding heavily, leaving a bloody trail behind her as she moved, though she did not seem to notice nor pay any attention to it. One thought possessed her mind: she had to get out of here. Her head started to feel heavy, and she was starting to lose control of her senses. Losing too much blood had made her body weak and tired. Her body needed to rest. She needed to stop.

Clenching her teeth, she pressed to wound on her waist and moved on, stumbling across the street, hoping the pressure could stop the blood. This was no place to stop. She was still on his territory; she had to escape. Somewhere out of his reach. Then she will stop, treat her wounds and wait patiently for them to heal.

Yet blood continued to flow out of her body. Finally she gave in, leaning on a street lamp gasping for air. If the bleeding continued like this, she knew she was going to die at some point. The result was clear; it was just a matter of time. She needed somewhere to hide. Now.

A sudden flapping noise startled her. Raising her head, she saw that it was a raven, landing onto the sidewalk, peering curiously at her, perhaps attracted by the smell of her blood. The stone on her heart fell. It was just a harmless bird; not him. The pitch black bird wandered by the blood trail she created, taking off suddenly as if it was frightened by something. It reminded her to do one thing: run.

She did not know what she was thinking when she had stopped. This increased the chance of him capturing her—the last thing she would ever want in the entire world. He was her worst nightmare. It was him who hunted her down, and he made all his effort to make sure she would not escape from his hands. If it were not for him, she would not have to escape in the first place. By mere luck she had managed to escape from the house she was kept prison in when he was gone; but who knows how further could she go? The robots that guarded her had wounded her badly. He should have known by now that she had escaped, which meant he and his men were more than likely searching for her.

Her mind started to blur. The world around her spun rapidly around her. She stepped into a dark alley, trying to hide herself in the darkness. Young Master probably didn't know where she was, otherwise help would have arrived a long time ago. She knew that he didn't like failures, and those how failed him were often punished, but how would he abandon her? Surely he would never do such thing to her; he had cared for her so much. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself down, though it was impossible to clear the fear and pain hovering over her heart. She collapsed to her knees, gasping for air. She was dying.

"There you are, pet." His voice rose behind her. Her heart sunk as his words hammered on her heart. This was the moment she had been dreading since the minute she escaped. Her first reaction was to run, trying to pull herself back to her feet, but her knees crashed back to the hard icy ground. All she could do was kneeling there on the ground, panting for air as he approached her.

"What do you want from me?" Her voice was a whisper, barely hearable. Facing him alone, she was helpless and hopeless, not to mention the wounds she suffered from her escape. His footsteps bounced on the walls and echoed in the alley as he slowly walked over to her.

"Everything." He answered simply as he pulled her up. She was too weak to protest, so she let him be. When he saw her wound he frowned, but didn't say anything as he picked her up. She trembled with fear as he looked down to her and smirked. Why was it her that he wanted? Why?

Shutting her eyelids tight, silently she asked herself: How did everything come to this?


	2. Chapter 1

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thank you for pointing that out, I already corrected it. If anyone finds mistakes like those, lease tell me in your review. **

**Innocent Law: I was born in America, but I grew up in another country, thus I don't consider English as my first language. **

**Law-heartPirates, Miss Doflamingo, bunny-chan66, u-know: Thank you for your support! **

**Since its getting to the end of the school year, I'm going to be really busy. I'm hoping to make my chapters longer (the ones in Four Sheets to the Wind are awfully short, I just noticed it), so I may not be able to update often... But I promise that I will finish Over the Edge! Anyway, tell me what you think about this chapter in your reviews!**

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Chap. 1

"I swear this sacred oath that to Shichibukai and Donquixote Family leader, Donquixote Doflamingo, I will be faithful and obedient to the leader Donquixote Family and its members, Donquixote Doflamingo, to observe its code, and to conscientiously fulfill my official duties, so God help me." Virva bowed her head toward the tall man sitting on the seat before her in respect. The burning card with a saint pictured that had been passed rapidly by the other Family members was already consumed by fire, leaving only ashes to be swept by the wind. She lifted her head. "As burns this saint, so will burn my soul. I enter alive and I will have to get out dead." [1] The man smiled.

"Welcome to the Donquixote Family, Colombo Virva." A raven-hair woman stood up and walked towards her. Virva recognized her; she had been with Young Master whenever he visited her. He called her "Baby 5", which seemed more likely to be a code name than a real one. She took Virva's hand and prickled one of her fingers with a pin, squeezing it until blood came out and dropped into the bowl below. A gun and a dagger were placed beside it. The man's voice rang upon her ears.

"This blood means that we are now one Family. You live by the gun and the knife and you die by the gun and the knife."

The woman let go of her hand, and she bowed to the man in return. "So be it, Young Master."

Murmurs swept past the other members present. The initiation had come to an end; she sensed it rather than anybody told her. Young Master rose and smiled to her.

"Fufufu… From now on your code name shall be 'Ocelot", Virva. You will be known by it and it would be used for communication between members within the Family. Now you may go meet the other members."

Virva nodded as she was pulled away by Baby 5, the only member she knew besides Young Master, the leader of the family. She was raised up by him; her parents had died when she was too young to remember them. If it weren't for Young Master, she could have died at an early age in some infamous slum. It was Young Master who took her in, supported her life, treating her as if she were his younger sister. It would be a lie if Virva said she wasn't grateful for what he had done.

Young Master, better known as "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo, was one of the most powerful mafia leaders, so powerful that the World Government granted him a seat as one of the Shichibukai, though it was notable that most Shichibukai were mafia leaders, with the exception of Dracule "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk, who was an assassin instead. Virva was well aware of his status, and it was the only reason she chose to join his Family on her 18th birthday. What a great way of celebrating adulthood and showing your gratitude to a mafia leader. Baby 5's voice pulled her back to reality.

"I'm so happy that you finally became part of the Family!" Baby 5 guided her through the crowd. "Young Master had always been mentioning you to the Family. He seems to think highly of you."

"Really?" Virva's eyes widened with surprise. Doflamingo was kind to her, but she never thought that he would have a high opinion of her. After all, she was just merely an 18-year-old girl who had some talent in playing the violin. What could she possibly give him besides her loyalty?

"Of course. He called some of the most important members of—" The older woman was cut off by someone.

"Behehehe, I heard one of your boyfriends was beaten up again by Young Master, Baby 5?"

A bedraggled man suddenly pressed towards them, getting a bit too close for comfort. He was much taller than both Virva and Baby 5, and his body somehow reminded her of snails. His entire body seemed to be made from a thick substance that is secreting off him. Baby 5 frowned and started to yell back at him.

"You're too close! And how many times are you going to say that?! I'm already sick of it!"

The man backed up a bit and turned his attention to Virva instead. "So this is the girl Doffy nominated himself?" He took a step towards her, as if he wanted a better look. Biting her lip, Virva took a step back.

"Yes; leave that poor girl alone, Trébol, you're frightening her!" Baby 5 stood between them. The man she called "Trébol" simply laughed.

"Has she met the other members yet?" He asked, advancing forward as Baby 5 and Virva were backing off.

"No! She's just a rookie, Trébol! I was taking her around before you started harassing us!" Baby 5 screamed at him. Virva decided that it would be a nice time to slip away and leave the two alone. Baby 5 was certainly nice, but Trébol… Anyway, she liked it better on her own.

Sipping on a cup of champagne, Virva explored the place and studied the people. Most of them were weird. Dangerous they were, she could sense it, which only excited her more. This was a mafia family, after all; a smile crept up her face as she finished the last of the champagne. She could hear whispers behind her back.

"So that's the new chick—"

"You're too loud, Lily. She might hear you."

"So? It doesn't seem like she could fight at all. A violinist. What could she do, eat me?" Virva glanced at the person who was talking. It was a girl with dirty blonde hair, and weirdly, she had sunglasses on, even though they were indoors. She had a strip of blue fur lying downwards, which didn't match the rest of her explosive outfit.

"Shh, she's looking towards us. I think she heard you." A woman with dark hair and tanned skin tried to hush her up, looking quite worried about Lily. Beside her sat a tall man with a good physique. He seemed to be bored and paid little interest to Lily, who was calling out to Virva.

"Hey, you, over there." Virva narrowed her eyes as she turned over to face the blonde girl. "Yes, I'm talking to you." Lily seemed a bit older than her, perhaps a little over 20? The girl sneered at her. "So you're the recruit who joined today?"

"Yes." Virva took a step nearer. Lily towered above her. Virva wondered how tall Lily would be if she hadn't wore those high heels. She probably would have been taller then. They looked awfully painful to Virva. Raising an eyebrow, she lifted up her head. "May I help you with anything?"

"You! Know your place, _musician_. This is mafia you're facing; not a fancy classical concert of yours."

"_Lily_!" A woman with pink hair glared at them, a hint of warning in her voice. Yet everyone stood by; they seemed to be curious about how Virva would react.

"Well, if that's all you got to say, please pardon me, madam. You're in my way."

That did the trick. The blonde female was furious. "A person should know their place, you little bit—" Her hand was raised high, but it never fell onto Virva's face. She caught it midair, her grip tight on Lily's wrist. She could hear something crack.

"You have said well. A person should know their place." Smirking, Virva threw her senior towards the ground. Pulling out her gun, she pushed it right into the blonde's face. "Do you have anything to say now?"

"Fufufufu, I've seen that you've met with the Bellamy Family, an ally of ours." Young Master stood beside her. Virva lowered her head.

"An ally? I'm terribly sorry if I caused any trouble for you, Young Master."

"Fufufufufufu… Trouble? There's nothing wrong in demonstrating your status to others, Vinny." Young Master finally managed to stop laughing. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Surely." Virva replied as she watched Lily picked herself up, her voice emotionless.

"Good. I have someone to introduce to you now. Don't worry about them; they can settle themselves."

As she walked away with Doflamingo, she could hear other members of the Bellamy Family scowling Lily. When she turned back and gave them one last look, she saw Lily mouth something to her.

_I will get you._

Smiling, Virva whispered back to her, "_I look forward to it._"

She quickly caught up with Young Master. "There was something I was wondering, Young Master." She had to jog to keep up with him.

"What is it, Vinny?" Young Master looked at her, his pace slowed a bit.

"During the initiation you said something about a code name. What is that for?"

"Oh. That's for communication during missions and other stuff. We don't need them during meetings like these."

"What do we need to cover up? The government knows that you're mafia, right?"

"Fufufu, you are right, but we're not supposed to just expose it to everyone. What belongs to the underworld is to be remained hidden. There are also times that we don't need the government to know everything we're up to."

"Got it." She exhaled slowly, digesting the information. "Who are we going to meet?"

"A high-ranking subordinate of mine. There he is." Virva followed Doflamingo's gaze. In the corner stood a young man. He had a fur hat on, and tribal-style tattoos ran down his arms. He wore a hoodie and his pants had some spots with a pattern similar to a snow leopard. A smirk was hanging on his face, though his gray eyes were distant and cold.

"Young Master." He greeted Doflamingo quietly.

"Trafalgar Law. This is Colombo Virva; you two will be partners from now on. Virva's a recruit of ours; I believe I can trust you to take care of her." Virva flinched a bit. Young Master did not tell her about having a partner. She turned to him, confused, but he was not looking at her.

"Yes sir." The man Doflamingo called "Law" stepped out of the shadows. It was then when she noticed a tall white bear standing beside him in overalls. She looked curiously at the bear; it didn't seem to show any discomfort standing up in those clothes.

"You don't have to stare at Bepo like that; he doesn't bite." Law eyed her coolly. Realizing she was staring, Virva blushed a bit and turned her head away. A wide spread grin hung on Doflamingo's face.

"While you get acquainted, I'd like to excuse myself. There are many things still waiting for me to finish." He said as he walked out, closing the door behind him. Virva watched the door slowly shut.

She didn't like the feeling of being closed up with Trafalgar Law. For some reason she didn't like him; staying beside him made her feel uncomfortable. There seemed to be more to him than the simple smirk that remained on his face all the time. His eyes were wild. For a relatively long time there was an awkward silence between the two. It was Bepo, the bear, the first to break it.

"Can you speak?"

It was sort of amusing to hear a bear ask a person if they could speak. "Yes." She answered, trying to hide her smile. "I didn't know that bears could talk though."

The bear seemed to blush under his fur and lowered his head. "Bepo is special." Law explained, leaning back onto the wall behind him. "He knows how to talk and he can understand some other languages. I taught him when we were younger." His silver-gray eyes seemed warmer and friendlier, for some reason. She took a step nearer.

"How interesting. It's almost like a gift; I've never met a talking animal before." With the help of the light spilling into the room from the window she studied the creature's face. He seemed like any other bear, besides his fur was white and he was biped instead of being a quadruped. The bear looked very cute, despite his huge body and large paws.

"Can I pet him?" She turned to Law. The young man simply shrugged.

"You'll have to ask him. I don't own him; he's just a friend of mine."

Virva turned hopefully to the bear. He nodded shyly. She petted him softly on the head. His fur was so soft and warm it made her want to hug him. Even as an 18-year-old teenager Virva still had a soft spot for cute and fuzzy animals. Law smirked silently beside them.

Many years later, the bear was still an alleviative between the two. When she thought about it, it seemed to her, that, only when Bepo was with them, their attitude towards each other—or rather, her attitude towards him, would ease a bit.

And that was only the start of their relationship.

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Most of the time all she did with him was training, since she was a recruit to the whole Underworld he lived in. True, she was raised up by Doflamingo, but that didn't mean that he had pulled her up in the dark Underworld. No, rather he raised her up and hid most of the part of the mafia world, only dropping the slightest hints of it until she was 16. Virva had sensed some of it when she started her training during 12, but it was nothing compared to what Law was pushing her into. She did not make any complaints of that; Young Master had already warned her about the harshness of a mafia life. She had chosen it herself; she did not want to disappoint him.

Other than that, he was an escort of hers whenever there were parties or meetings in the Family. As a musician she often held concerts of her own; on a few rare occasions he would attend with her. They were nothing more than partners.

So it was odd for him to show up in her house early in the morning sitting on the couch petting her pet cat with his two subordinates Penguin and Shachi standing in the living room with Bepo in the corner. They did a pretty good job sneaking into her house, since she was not alerted and they somehow had managed to gain the trust of her vigilant tabby. Thank LORD she had a habit of changing into casual clothes right after she woke up every day in the morning. She had no notion of meeting any men in her night gown, no matter who the person was. She scowled the few men after entering the living room, glancing at her unfaithful cat that was rubbing his cheek against Trafalgar Law's arm.

"How on earth did you get in here?" She asked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Law stood up and smirked.

"Doflamingo gave me a copy of your keys. I thought you already knew that."

Shit. Virva gritted her teeth. Young Master often did things without letting her know; she should have known better. Slowly exhaling and rolling her eyes, she threw out her next question.

"What are you here for?" She leaned back onto the wall behind her. It would be no use asking how he knew her address; Young Master probably told him that when he gave him the keys. Once she got them out of the house she was definitely calling locksmith.

"There's an emergency meeting at Tokyo; Doflamingo didn't say much on the phone, but it seems to have something to with a few of the other Shichibukai. It's scheduled tomorrow evening at 7; I've already had the plane ready to go."

"You could have called me instead of breaking into my house." Virva picked up her cat and placed him onto a cupboard beside her. She did not want her pet anywhere near Law, and especially did not want him getting close to that man.

"It would be much faster if I came here to pick you up right away." He stepped closer to her. Virva wanted to step away, but there was a solid wall behind her. She eyed him warily and hand her hand on her pistol. She never trusted him; it was suspicious enough that he broke into her house without telling her. But he stopped when he was a few steps away from her, yet the feeling of him towering over her did not go away.

"I did not break into your house; I simply walked in after opening the door with the key." His voice was calm even though Virva was positive that he noticed her moves. "Shouldn't you go and pack some of your things for the meeting? From what Doflamingo had told me we will be stuck there a few days. We can wait for you here."

"…Stay here." She replied, her voice almost a growl. Virva stormed back into her own room, grabbing some clothes from her wardrobe and throwing them into her suitcase that was lying on the floor open.

Law sank back down onto the couch as she left the living room. Penguin raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

"She looked as if she was going to shoot you when you approached her."

"She probably was going to do so." Law replied lazily. The cat jumped down from the cupboard and leapt onto the couch, taking a spot beside him. Shachi and Penguin exchanged a worried glance.

"What was that for?" Penguin asked. Law shrugged and replied.

"I don't know. She just seems to be uncomfortable with men, besides Doflamingo."

"She's an androphobia [2]? What a pity." Looking at Penguin's expression, Law couldn't help but smirk.

"I didn't know that you would actually have the guts to try to flirt with her. She was raised and is valued by Doflamingo, after all."

That kept both Penguin and Shachi's mouth shut till Virva returned to the living room. She still seemed angry and frustrated, and she glared at him as she picked up the cat from the couch.

Her fury still did not seem to fade when they aboard the plane. She had never been treated like this before, with someone breaking into her house and then acted as if they owned the place. Perhaps they technically did, since she lived in the area Law was in charge, but it still angered her. Who did he think he was?

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**[1] This oath is a combination of the Wehrmacht Oath, the Civil Servant Oath of the Hitler Oath, and the mafia initiation ritual. Just thought that I should tell you guys in case anyone thought that was familiar.**

**[2]Androphobia: an abnormal fear of men. The word is derived from the Greek word _άνήρ_ (man) and _φόβος_ (fear)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the late update, I was really busy preparing for all kinds of final exams. I just have another week for final tests and I'm done with school, so hopefully I would have more time to update. **

**10th Seat 3rd Squad: Thank you for your continued support :) **

**KittyCatt1036: Yes, this is an AU, sorry if I confused you. **

**Law-heartsPirates: I like that part too. It's from a real mafia ritual, apparently. **

**Captain Riley: Doflamingo knows that Law has interest in Virva, but not the kind of interest you were talking about... This will be further explained the next time I update. **

**Since I didn't have much time, this chapter is a lot shorter than the previous one... Hope you guys don't mind! Please tell me what you think about this chapter in the reviews! Flames are welcomed also! **

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Chap. 2

_"Find Victoria Cindry and kill her." _

Doflamingo's command still echoed in her mind. Victoria Cindry wasn't anyone important, at least to the Doflamingo Family; she just happened to have some connections with Gekko Moriah's doctor Dr. Hogback. According to the information Law had provided her she was Dr. Hogback's love interest, though she did not seem to return his feelings and was already engaged to another man. Cindry remained close friends with Dr. Hogback, which was the only reason Virva could think of to explain why she was told to assassinate her. Bepo told her that it probably didn't matter how important the female actress was; what was important to Doflamingo was that if Virva succeeded she would officially be part of the Family. If she did kill someone or get involved into illegal activities, Bepo explained, and then if Doflamingo was caught by the government he could drag her into the mire as well. The thought about the possibility of Young Master selling her out to the government surely wasn't very comforting, but then, as Bepo had said, it was a task to be completed to be officially accepted within the Family. Young Master was only trying to help her out, wasn't he? Certainly he wouldn't betray her—or would he?

Virva closed her eyes and pushed on her temples. She still hasn't talked to Law since he broke into her house. When she asked Young Master for an explanation about the keys, he just simply told her that he had asked Law to "look after her for him". As if she couldn't look after herself already. Since she really couldn't argue with him, Virva decided to not mention about it again, and she also figured that it would be best not to tell him that she was planning on calling a locksmith whenever she was done with the assassination. And there was no way she was giving the new keys to anybody. Having someone breaking into her house once was enough; she didn't need a second time.

Anyway, her major concern right now was focused on Victoria Cindry, the famous stage actress who was now her first target. _"Find Victoria Cindry and kill her." _That was all she had to do, right? _Everything was just a simple as that._ Virva thought to herself. But if everything was really that simple, then why did she feel uneasy about it? She could feel cold sweat dripping down her forehead.

"What are you waiting for?" Law's sudden words pulled her back to reality. There her target was, kneeling in front of her, begging for her life. Law's face did not show any expression; Bepo just simply turned his back towards all three of them as he looked out of the window into the dark night sky high above. She gulped nervously as she pulled out her pistol, pointing it towards the female actress.

Never before had she killed anyone. She understood that the man who saved her had killed many since she was fourteen, directly or indirectly, but she never had any hard feelings against it. Perhaps it was because deep inside her she felt that those people _deserved_ it; after all, her parents were killed by the government, weren't they? But she never asked about what kind of people he killed, if they were really guilty or not. Virva just didn't care; everything didn't matter to her back then.

Yet everything was different now, when she knew that the woman kneeling in front of her had did nothing wrong but befriending the famous Dr. Hogback. Victoria Cindry had done no wrong to her; she was not part of the World Government that Virva hated, and had definitely nothing to do with her parents' death. And she was to kill her with the gun in her hand by herself. Law and Bepo served as witnesses; they were present just to make sure that Victoria Cindry would die by her hands, not by hands of any other.

Her finger moved towards the trigger. All she had to do was to pull it and everything would end. The actress was a defenseless woman; with Law beside her there was no way Victoria Cindry could escape. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes as she repeated the words during her initiation ritual.

_I live by the gun and the knife and I die by the gun and the knife. _

Her eyes snapped open as she pulled the trigger. Just right after that, the actress raised her head and looked at her. Those beautiful eyes, filled with fear, somehow overlapped with something in her memory. They were begging her. _No._ It said. _Don't. _Virva's eyes widened. How on earth…?

But it was already too late. The bullet flew strait through the woman's forehead, killing her instantly. Half a second after she pulled the trigger and Victoria Cindry was no more. Suddenly she felt hard to breath. Gasping for air as she pressed her hand on her chest, she could feel Bepo grab her while Law spoke, his voice sounded distant.

"Let's get out of here now, Ocelot."

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The environment around her was unfamiliar when she woke up.

Everything around her was white. The blanket that covered her, the bed, the curtains, the walls, the ceiling; even the fake flowers beside the bed she was lying on were white. Her head felt heavy. Moaning softly, she pushed herself up as she looked around to have a better view of the room. Somehow it reminded her of a hospital room. It was clean and neat just like one, but missing the smell of the medical stuff. Her gun lied silently on a chair beside the bed. Somehow the weapon assured her that she was safe, no matter what this place was.

She leaned back to the wall behind her. There was no memory of how she got here, her last recall was Bepo grabbing her and Law saying something; the only thing that was clear was that she had never been to anywhere like this before. Virva pushed on her temples. She was starting to get a headache. Sighing, she tried her best to drift back to sleep. All she wanted to do was to lay back and rest for now. Nothing else mattered; at least, for now.

_"What are you waiting for?" His words echoed in her ears. It felt hard for her to breath, she could tell that the female before her was begging, yet she could not make out what exactly was she saying. Everything sounded distant and blurry, as if she was underwater listening to the people above talking to her. _

_Her grasp on the revolver tightened; her finger ready to pull the trigger. What was she waiting for? Virva didn't know; there was nothing for her to wait for after all. But it just felt wrong. It felt wrong to even think about pulling the trigger. What on earth was she waiting for? _Pull it and everything would end._ A voice told her in her heart. _Everything will end.

_Memories welled up into her mind. She remembered the day Alex had died, how her beautiful eyes were wide open, glassy and hollow as they reflected her own image. She remembered how her feet were dangling from the floor, rocking gently with the breeze coming in from the open windows. _

_She bit her lip as she closed her eyes. The scene appeared before her again: Young Master sitting on the seat high above, towering over her as his words boomed in the dark room. _

You live by the gun and the knife and you die by the gun and the knife.

_You die by the gun and the knife. _

_The trigger was pulled as her eyes snapped open, watching the bullet fly towards Victoria Cindry as the actress's trebling figure overlapped with the young girl from her childhood whose ghost haunted her forever, and slowly, the face turned into Colombo Virva's very own face. Blood spilled everywhere; her view became red and stained with warm fresh blood. _

Virva sat up straight, gasping for oxygen. She stumbled across the room, barefooted. Her instants drove her to the door beside the bed, her fingers trying to open the door clumsily. Staggering into the bathroom, she blundered towards the toilet, trying to press down the sickness that was welling up. Finally she collapsed beside the clean white toilet, vomiting all the food left in her stomach out. When she was done, she sat down onto the cold hard tile ground as she listened to the toilet flush. Virva closed her eyes, leaning back on the wall. It was gross. Men, herself, the dream, and reality. Everything.

* * *

"She hasn't come out of her room yet. When I was going to check on her I found the door locked from the inside. Do you think we should break in?" Penguin stood before him, his voice slightly worried. "It's been three days now."

Law looked out of the window beside him. Outside, the white rubus flowers bloomed fiercely, adding so much weight to the braches that supported them that they bent lower than usual, as if they were the heavy snow of winter, though the blooming flowers indicating the end of spring. His eyes narrowed at what Penguin said. It had been three days since Virva killed Victoria Cindry. He lowered his head and turned back to his subordinate.

"No, we'll see for a bit longer. After all, the first kill is always the hardest for new members. I don't expect her to be an exception to that rule."

"But…" Penguin opened his mouth and closed it. His face still seemed worried.

"I'll check on her if we need to. She wouldn't die so easily; I won't let that happen." He assured Penguin. Penguin did not look convinced, but still bowed and left the room. After he closed the door behind him, Bepo, who was standing in the corner, turned to his captain.

"Are you sure about this? Leaving her alone like that…" The bear's voice traced off.

"She won't do anything to herself." He turned towards Bepo, who clearly did not think the same thing as he did.

"She has a gun with her. And it has bullets in it." Bepo's voice was firm. It was obvious that the bear did not trust the girl alone with such a weapon.

"If she fired it, we would have heard it, Bepo." He replied calmly. The polar bear blinked.

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence. Then the bear spoke again, frowning. "But what if she fires it towards herself sometime in the future?" He started to worry again.

"She won't." Law shook his head, a small smile appearing on face at the thought of that. That girl, killing herself? It was almost like a joke to him. His loyal polar bear did not understand.

"Why are you so sure?" Bepo tilted his head, confused.

"Because no matter how hard she tries to hide it, she's just a girl. A harmless, young teenage girl. She hesitated before she killed Victoria Cindry, and almost fainted after she did so. Such a person won't dare to kill herself, Bepo. She wouldn't even think of it."

"Oh." The white bear blinked again. "But I still think I should check so she wouldn't die of thirst."

Law sighed. "No, Bepo… I'll go during the afternoon. There's something I want to find out about Miss Colombo."

* * *

She had lost count of time. Virva felt that it had been days since she ate, but the fear nagging her heart made her feel sick and she had no desire for food. After all these years Virva thought she could face those eyes calmly, but Victoria Cindry's death just emphasized her worst childhood nightmares. Those eyes, those sad, begging eyes would not leave her alone, whether she was sleeping or awake. They haunted her in her dreams. They seemed to be wherever she went, following her. There was no way she could rid herself of them. It was her nemesis, the punishment of her cowardliness and the murder she had took part. She went out once into the hallways during the evening, but the shadows in the dark hallways just frightened her even more. Ghosts seemed to be on every corner out there, ready to jump out and spook her. At least when she was closed up in the room and turned all the lights on, she was safe from them.

There were some people that knocked on the locked door a few times, but she always ignored them and in the end they always left her alone, which was exactly what she wanted them to do. All the time she sat on the wooden floor of the room, hiding between the night stand and the bed. It made her feel safer.

All the time she slumbered, wandering between soberness and dreams. The reality and her dreams fused together; it became hard for her to distinguish the two. So when someone knocked on the door again, she thought it was just part of her wild imagination and tried her best to ignore it.

Then there was a small "click" coming from the door. And then the door opened.

Virva's first instant was to reach for the gun. It was on the other side of the bed, so she struggled to get up and reach for it. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of the person entering: Trafalgar Law. Fear seized her as she raised the gun towards him, her hands shaking.

"Don't come any nearer." Virva tried hard to keep her voice steady. He ignored her weak warning as he continued to walk towards her. "Don't, or… I'll shoot you!"

He smiled as he shook his head. "You won't." He stepped forward. Virva frowned, confused.

"How would you know?" Gritting her teeth, she forced out the words as she slowly back up until her back touched the wall. She was cornered by him; this was not good at all.

"Because." With a smirk he advanced towards her, grabbing her wrists as she gasped from the pain it caused. Slowly and firmly he pulled away the pistol from her hands, his grip on her wrists eased as he did so.

"No…" She whimpered as he towered over her. Her body felt weak as she started to slide down to the floor. "Please…don't."

"Everything's fine, Virva." His voice became gentle. He bent down and cupped her face, his eyes met hers. "Nothing can harm you here. I won't hurt you."

* * *

**[1] Technically I don't think that den den mushis vibrate, but since Virva's trying to assassinate someone I think that assassins would have a special type of den den mushi to carry around. **


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long but I was really busy the past week and my mom kept kicking me off the computer when I was typing. Summer school starts for me tomorrow, so it seems that I won't be as free as I thought I would be. I would do my best to update though. **

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: Thank you for pointing out my mistakes. Please point out more if you spot any. Creative criticism is welcomed. **

**KittyCatt1036: I re-read the last chapter after reading your review and when I got to the last paragraph I started laughing too... It's fine. **

**Anyway, here's the chapter; hope you guys enjoy! Flames and reviews are strongly welcomed!**

* * *

Chap. 3

_The bell rung as the girls started to pack up. The day was over for them now, and they were free to spend the rest of their time however they wanted as long as they remained inside the school gates. Peony smiled at her before stuffing the last of her textbook into her bag. "Let's go, Vinny; if we get to the cafeteria too late it would be overcrowded." _

_Smiling back to her friend, she picked up her backpack. "Come on, Alex. Hurry up; we're all waiting for you." _

_The small girl nodded quickly as she scooped up her notebook that was lying on the wooden table. Unlike Virva and Peony, Alexandra was not sent by her parent guardian to the private girls' school. She was an orphan; instead it was the abbey near the school that sent her in. They had taken her in when she was only 3. It was said that her parents drowned. _

_"Here; let me help you." Virva grabbed the textbook that was still lying on the desk. They were just about to walk out as their History teacher, a young pale man, walked over to them. _

_"Addison Alexandra, come to my office please." He glanced at the two other girls who beside her, giving Virva and Peony a swift nod and walked off. _

_Alexandra moaned as she rolled her eyes. "It must have something to do with the quiz; I'm positive. I hate History so much. I'm just not good at it." _

_"Shh! He might have heard you!" Peony dragged her aside, looking towards the teacher's receding figure. Virva looked at her with pity. _

_"You should have told me; I aced that quiz with my notes. Well, I guess we'll have to go first then. We'll save a spot for you." Looking at her friend's worried face, Virva quickly assured her. Peony nodded. _

_"We can wait for you if you want, Alex." The blonde-haired girl suggested, but Alexandra shook her head. _

_"No, it's fine. It probably going to take a long time if he wants the go over the entire thing; you can go to the cafeteria first." The young brunette sighed. "I'll come afterwards." She took her textbook from Virva's hands and walked to the teacher's office. _

_As they walked on, Virva suddenly remembered that she had left her notebook on the desk. "I think I forgot my notebook in the classroom." She stopped and turned to Peony. Her friend frowned and looked back towards the direction they came from. _

_"You better hurry, Vinny. If you're lucky then the door isn't locked yet. Don't get caught by the teachers." _

_"I know. Even if the door is looked, one of the windows is broken. It's always open; I can get into the classroom from there." _

_Virva handed Peony her backpack and headed towards the classroom. The hallways were clear of teachers. _Good. _She thought to herself as she tried to open the door. It was locked. _

_"Shit." Cursing under her breath, she tried the first window from the left. Just as she had predicted, it slid open. She jumped into the classroom, closing the window behind her. Her notebook was lying on one of the desks. She grabbed it and left. _

_Everything was going fine until a teacher appeared at the end of the way to go to the cafeteria. Luckily the teacher didn't see her; Virva dashed into another hallway beside. She would need to go the longer way to the cafeteria. Sighing, she lowered her head and walked on, trying to minimize the sound of her footsteps. _

_When she passed by one of the offices, she heard some weird noise. Lifting up her head, a bronze sign told her it was her History teacher's office. Virva stopped. The noise sounded strange yet familiar. Then she suddenly realized why. It was a human's voice, and it belonged to Alexandra. Taking a step forward, she pressed her ear onto the door, trying to hear what was going on. _

_Alexandra's voice was muffled. It sounded that she was crying with something stuffed in her mouth. Virva frowned. Why would Alexandra be crying? She didn't understand. _

_There was a window of the office that faced the hallway. The curtains were pulled up, but there was still a tiny little gap for her to look through. Pressing herself forward, Virva saw an image that would iron in her mind for her entire life that she would long to forget. _

"Colombo Virva!"

She lifted up her head. It felt heavy, for some reason. Her body was trembling; she could feel someone's grip on her arms. Virva blinked. It was Trafalgar Law standing before her; Bepo stood behind him, a worried look on his face.

"What?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. Her teeth were shaking as she talked. Virva felt as if her body was out of control; she couldn't even support herself to stand up. All she could do was tremble and panic.

"What's wrong with you?" The Dark Doctor frowned. Virva gulped, trying to steady her voice.

"I'm…fine. Let me go." Virva lowered her head, avoiding Law's gaze. "Just let go of me."

He hesitated and loosened his grip. Virva sat onto the bed beside, hugging her arms. Her skin was cold and damp; strange that she was sweating, even though the temperature was not high at all. Bepo tapped on her shoulder gently.

"Are you alright? You haven't come out for three days. Do you want some chocolate milk?" The bear blinked at her in a way she couldn't resist his offer. His cuteness also made her feel better. She nodded weakly in response. The bear hurried out, leaving her and Law alone in the room. Her body shivered.

"What are you here for?" She asked, her voice more hostile than she thought. He just smirked and sat down in a chair next to her bed.

"You've been in here for three days. I doubt you ate or drank anything, and you look pretty beaten up to me right now. Is this enough reason to worry?" He asked, tilting his head.

Virva rolled her eyes. "Get lost." She muttered under her breath, but didn't make any further attempt to force him to leave. Law ignored her and remained in the seat. Bepo entered the door with a tray in his hands.

"I thought you said you went to get chocolate milk." She said, looking at the meal on the food tray with a frown on her face.

"Ah…I thought it would be better for you and Law to talk inside instead of going out and eating with the others." Bepo replied nervously, as if he was unsure about something.

_A talk with him._ Virva turned towards Law. _What does he want to know?_ She thought and looked at him blankly. "What is it?" She asked as she sipped onto her chocolate milk carefully.

"What's troubling you?"

Virva choked on her milk. "I'm sorry?" She asked, coughing as Bepo gently patted her back and sat down next to her.

"You haven't slept well. I can tell from the black rims around your eyes."

"Thank you for pointing it out." Virva said dryly as she caught her breath.

"So what's troubling you? You still haven't answered my question yet, Miss Colombo." His voice was calm and emotionless. Virva couldn't tell what he was thinking—was he just worried about her or did he want to find out more?

"Ghosts." She finally replied after thinking for a while. Law raised an eyebrow.

"You killed someone before?" He asked, his voice curious. Virva shook her head.

"Never done it before. Why are you asking?"

"You used the plural form for 'ghost', so I assume you have killed or witnessed murder before?" Law leaned forward. She tensed; she felt threatened. Virva took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. _Bepo is here too._ She told herself.

"I have not." Virva replied shortly. She had no interest of this man knowing any more about her life. They were just partners; enough was enough. Law did not give up so easily, however.

"Suicide?"

Virva lowered her head, eating her bread silently. Law smirked.

"I'll take that as a yes then." He smiled and sank back into his chair. "Do you want to talk about it right now?"

"_No_." She snapped at him. He just shrugged.

"Whatever pleases you." He stopped and stared at her. Virva looked back blankly at him. "What is it this time?" She growled. He looked away.

"You have a milk mustache."

"Oh." She wiped her mouth, a bit embarrassed.

"But that wasn't what I was going to say."

Virva lifted up her head. "Then what?" The feel of embarrassment was swept away. She felt her anger rising again. For some reason she was easily angered and short tempered when she was with Law. Perhaps it was just because he was such an annoying _asshole_. Yes, an _asshole_. Just the right word to describe the man before her—

"You're afraid of men, aren't you."

Virva was startled by his question. "Are you asking me?"

"Do I look like I'm asking Bepo?" He said, raising an eyebrow. Virva felt rather stupid.

"…No." She said sheepishly.

"Then answer my question."

"That was a statement rather than a question, sir." She tried to avoid answering the question. The air in the room was filled with tension. Virva did not like this at all. She wanted to run, hide somewhere that she knew for sure was safe, and scream at the top of her lungs till she lost her voice.

"Whatever. Answer my question, Miss Colombo: Are you afraid of men?" His patience was running out, she could feel it by the look on his face. She turned her gaze away.

"Not all men." She replied weakly in defense. This conversation was not going towards any direction she liked. But how on earth did he know? Was it that obvious, her weakness?

"Besides Doflamingo?" He asked tentatively. She frowned.

"Is it that clear?"

"Yes. Your androphobia is very evident. You seem comfortable whenever Doflamingo or other women are with you when there are men around, but you seem extremely alerted when you're left alone with men. And Doflamingo told me about it."

Virva choked on her milk. "Doflamingo told you what?"

Law leaned back into his seat and looked lazily at her. "Your androphobia. Fear of men."

_So he knew. _She sipped on her milk, a bit angry at Young Master. _Why did he have to tell Law every single little detail about me? I know nothing about this man before me besides the fact that he's an asshole and my long-term assassin partner. _"What else did he tell you?" She asked, a bit frustrated.

"Well, some basic information about you." He answered slyly. Pushing down the urge to throw her tray towards him, she rolled her eyes.

"And what exactly is 'basic information', may I ask?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

For some reason Virva had a bad feeling about this. She hesitated for a while. Law looked at her, taunting her with that smug smirk of his on his face. She gritted her teeth.

"Why not?"

"Fine then." He _laughed_. Virva frowned. _What was so funny about this?_ The horrible feeling in her heart grew stronger. She already started to regret her decision.

"Well, let's see." Law went on. "Your name, birthday, age, height, weight—"

_What on earth?_ She thought to herself as Law continued listing.

"Some background information of your history, your hobbies, vital statistics—"

"_Stop right there. _What did you just say?" Virva almost choked on her milk again. _How did Young Master know that and why did he tell Law?!_ She frowned at Law.

"Your vital statistics, Miss Colombo." His foolish grin still hung on his face. Virva had the sudden urge to pour her milk all over that grin. _Will he still grin then?_ She thought as she narrowed her eyes.

"Why did he need to tell you that."

Trafalgar Law shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? It's not like I asked."

Virva rolled her eyes. "You better. Now get lost." She mumbled as she putted down her cup heavily.

"As you wish then." Law said as he stood up. Bepo followed his actions, opening the door for his leader and walked out. Before he left her room, Law turned back. Virva glared at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Also," His grin returned to his face. "I would recommend you to go find a psychologist to fix your phobia of men and fear of ghosts. A female assassin won't last long out there if she has such fears."

The door slammed shut as she threw her tray at him: an action she later regretted. For the next half hour she spent her time cleaning the milk and glass, cursing him in her heart. _The nerve of that man._ She thought as her grip on a piece of broken glass hardened, almost cutting herself. Then wise Nancy's words came to her mind:

_Men are always perverts, my dear Vinny. Even Young Master, no matter how nice he is. It's just that some men learn how to control their desires and become gentlemen. Others let it overrule them and become monsters. _

Ah, those words of truth!


End file.
